Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Uptown's Own 'Ghost Ad'

If you get a chance, check out one of our favorite Chicago websites, "Forgotten Chicago." There is a special section there featuring "ghost ads" of Chicago, which are long faded and mostly forgotten painted advertisements on the sides of buildings. We have noticed one on Clark just north of Lawrence that is even more visible now that the building on the corner has been demolished. We can vaguely make out "gas" but maybe an Uptown old-timer can fill us in on what this once advertised.

6 comments:

  1. 'forgotten chicago' is a great site. i would recommend spending some time on there whether you know anything about this particular "ghost ad" or not.

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  2. That is the old monument building for the cemetery acros the street.
    The second word I believe is monuments. I know because I used to play in that alley next to the old demolished building we called home in the early 60s.

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  3. Tigcap-
    Thanks so much! It is wonderful to hear from people who remember our community as it used to be. I'm sure you have a lot of stories of Uptown in the 1960s.

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  4. Don't get me started......
    The area of Broadway between Lawrence and Wilson has changed dramatically. Of course, the Uptown theatre was open back then. It was quite glamorous to even a child like myself. I remember going to children's shows there at Christmas. The stores that populated that area included a Hillmans grocery store on Broadway north of Wilson and a Thom McCahn shoe store( I am dating myself...) Yes, there was even an upscale women's's fashion store on the corner by the Riviera. Of course Goldblatts deaprtment store was a mainstay also. I could go on forever.

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  5. Please do, tigcap! :) Do your parents have any old pictures? People often undervalue how much important history that they have inside their own memories.

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  6. Has there ever been any update about the corpses that were found in the rubble of the old Rainbo roller rink during the demolition?

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